


Lovers Reunited

by Cantatrice18



Category: Stardust (2007)
Genre: F/M, Reunions, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-06
Updated: 2012-06-06
Packaged: 2017-11-07 02:04:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/425696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cantatrice18/pseuds/Cantatrice18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tristan brings Una across the wall to see his father, but the meeting does not go the way he expected it would.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lovers Reunited

Her hand tensed in his as she stared across the field. “No, Tristan. Please, I cannot cross the wall.”

“Why not?” he queried, “It’s perfectly safe – I crossed with no ill effects, as did my father of course.” 

She shuddered at his words and came to an abrupt halt. Caught off guard, Tristan stumbled and nearly fell. Exasperated, he turned back to face her, but any annoyance faded as he examined her more closely. She was trembling, her skin pale against her coal black hair and her eyes filled with dread. He stepped towards her, his hand caressing hers. “I swear that you will come to no harm. You have my word.”

She looked away, a slight blush mantling her cheeks. “It isn’t that. I know it’s safe to cross, you’ve proved that. But to meet him again, after so many years; he only saw me that once, he may well have forgotten what I look like.”

Tristan smiled and shook his head. “He could not have possibly forgotten you. When he told me about you, about his journey across the wall so many years ago, his eyes lit up with a fire I’d never seen before. He spoke of you with a reverence granted to only the holiest of things, as though you were a goddess he revered above all else.” She still looked hesitant, and he pulled her into his arms. “And even if he forgot everything about the night he met you, he would still be able to tell at an instant who you were. After all, you bear a remarkable resemblance to me.” He chuckled slightly. “I suppose it’s the other way around, but you understand what I mean. Any fool can see that you are my mother.”

She nodded, her eyes closed. “I understand, and I hope you’re right. Lead on, Tristan.”

Smiling, he began to walk once more. She didn’t hesitate and they climbed through the gap in the stones, nor as they made their way through the dark streets of the town. Their luck was in: they ran into no one, and reached the cottage with no interruption. Tristan fumbled around for a moment, searching for the spare key he knew lay hidden somewhere. “Aha,” he whispered triumphantly, “got it.”

The door squeaked softly as they entered, and Tristan set the lamp on the table. It illuminated the room with a soft, rosy glow, and he felt a wave of nostalgia sweep over him. Had it really been less than a fortnight since he’d left? So much had changed in his life, and yet the house was exactly the same. His reminiscences were interrupted by the feel of cold metal against the back of his head. 

“You chose the wrong house to rob, young man,” said a familiar voice. “Put your hands in the air, and don’t even try to reach for your weapon.”

Tristan obliged. He saw his mother back into a shadowy corner until she was hidden from view. “Turn around slowly,” said the voice, “and no tricks.”

Smiling, Tristan turned and faced the man. “Hello, Father.”

His father’s eyes widened as he saw the change that had come over his son, and he quickly lowered his blade. “Tristan? Is that really you? You look so…different.”

Tristan laughed. “I know. You’d be amazed the difference a trip over the wall makes. I’ve had many adventures I could never have even dreamed about, seen things I would not have believed possible. I’d love to tell you about them, but first,” he glanced back towards the corner where Una stood hidden, “There is someone I’ve brought to meet you, someone of great importance to me.”

He reached out and Una took a hesitant step into the light. Tristan walked over to her and took her hand once more, squeezing it reassuringly as he looked back at his father. “As soon as we met, I knew she was the one.”

Dunstan Thorn’s expression changed to one of amazement as he took in the sight of her. His lips parted slightly and he gazed at her as if hypnotized. Then, to Tristan’s shock, his father's expression turned to horror and he took a step back. “Send her away, Tristan, I beg of you.”

Una looked mortified. She clung to Tristan as if desperate not to lose him, her only support in this strange new world. Tristan looked at his father in surprise and confusion. “Why, Father? What’s wrong?”

His father shuddered. “You can’t be near her. I beg of you Tristan, let her go. You don’t know what you are doing.”

Tristan felt a prickle of anger. Una was trembling, her eyes closed as if trying to block the scene from her mind. He placed a gentle arm around her waist. “It’s alright. He’ll come around, I’m sure of it.”

At his words his father took a step towards him, fist clenched in anger. “Get away from her, boy, or I’ll be forced to separate you two myself.” He glanced angrily at Una before turning back to his son. “She doesn’t belong with you.”

Incensed, Tristan glared at his father. “And why exactly should I force her to leave, when she’s travelled all this way to see you?”

“Never mind why.” He raised his sword once more, and Tristan quickly drew his own, pushing Una behind him to block her with his body. “Father, I swear, if you persist I’ll be forced to do something neither of us want.”

Dunstan gritted his teeth. “I have no choice. If you will not give her up then it is my duty to separate the two of you in any way possible.”

He swung his sword and Tristan blocked with ease. Twisting his blade, he snaked it around his father’s sword and sent the other blade flying to land across the room with a clang. He raised the point of the sword to his father’s throat, eyes burning with rage. “How dare you insult her like this. I swore to her that you would welcome her, and now you treat her like she means nothing?”

His father met his gaze unflinchingly. “I cannot allow it. You must not come near her.”

Tristan’s grip on the hilt of his sword tightened. “Give me one good reason why not.”

“I will not have you wed your own mother!”

A stunned silence filled the room, and then Tristan began to laugh. His father looked desperate, glancing behind Tristan to where Una stood speechless. “I mean it, boy. I fervently hope you haven’t done anything yet that you’ll regret.”

Tristan struggled to keep a straight face as he lowered his sword. “Marry her? You thought I intended to marry her? My own mother?” He took a step backwards to stand once more by Una’s side. “I’ve known who she is since the moment we met. I brought her here to see you after all this time. She is free now to do as she likes – her mistress is dead, and her enslavement is ended. Even many years after your brief meeting she loves you, and I know from the way you spoke to me of her that you care for her as well. Why else did you never marry? No woman in this little town could possibly compare to a princess.”

Dunstan was staring between the two of them in amazement. “Then you… then she isn’t…”

To Tristan’s surprise Una stepped forward, her expression gentle. “I’ve waited for you for a long time. I knew I might never see you again, but I kept you in my heart. Even if you cannot love me, I wanted you to know.”

Tristan’s father reached a trembling hand towards her. “You love me? After all this time?” 

She took his hand, nodding, and he pulled her into a tight embrace. Tears glinted in his eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair. “Una. My dearest.”

Her head lay on his shoulder as she cried tears of relief and joy. Tristan slowly backed away, escaping up the stairs to give the pair some privacy. With no more misunderstanding between them, his parents seemed blissfully content to simply hold one another in silence. After so many years apart, they deserved a chance to be alone and to make up for lost time. Later he could introduce his father to Yvaine and recount his adventures in the kingdom of Stormhold, but it could wait. As he reached the landing at the top of the stairs he saw his parents exchange their first kiss in nearly twenty years. Now their long separation was over, and Tristan had the strangest feeling that he and Yvaine would not be the only ones to live happily ever after.


End file.
